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Business Spotlight – Calgary Restaurant And Brewery Prepare For Stage One

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7 minute read

The Alberta relaunch strategy; a breath of fresh air for us Calgarians. We have done our part as members of the community and now as we begin to take those two steps forward from one step back, we cheer with concern as details of the relaunch strategy begin to take effect as early as May 14th. The launch of ‘Stage 1’ of the strategy is to have multiple businesses begin to re-emerge from their COVID-19 hibernation with lifted restrictions on cafes, restaurants and bars. They can reopen for public seating at 50% capacity, but people will not be able to go to the bar to order drinks, they will need to be served at the table. 

 

 

Businesses that continue to operate through this crisis are seeing the dust begin to settle. One local Calgary company Paddy’s Barbecue and Brewery traditionally would see customers served their locally brewed beer at the bar and enjoying their rotisserie barbecue cuisine in house. Safe to say since the state of local emergency was declared on March 15th, every restaurant and bar in the city was left with a choice, close shop to weather the storm, or adapt to the situation early and move their offerings online.

 

 

Kerry & Jordan are the owners of Paddy’s Barbecue and Brewery, the concept was the brainchild of their son Paddy. Kerry from Ontario and Jordan spending his youth in Calgary, met in London Ontario, and moved back to Calgary in the 1980s. Their specialty with Paddy’s is a wide menu of smoked meats, sandwiches and their own in-house brewed beer. With the experience behind their brewmaster, Dan Lake, their beers won multiple awards in the 2020 Alberta Beer Awards. 

 

Let’s take it back to March 15th. Jordan and Kerry, immediately shut their doors to the public to focus solely on the well being of their team and their customers. Quick to react, by March 17th they had moved their menu online for pickup so they could continue to serve their customers. Seeing so much support from the community for local businesses, they welcome anyone who would like to visit their location to pick up their order and explore their range of bottled and canned beer. Thankful for support from the community, Jordan mentions:

 

“…Calgarians are rallying behind local merchants that are still open. They are visiting us and buying gift cards. They’re coming in with smiles on their faces. I will say that Calgarians are just wonderful…”

 

Most of us by now have made ourselves aware of the Alberta Relaunch Strategy. Currently, we remain with the strongest guidelines in place with some relief for recreation like golf courses and skateparks across Alberta. Focusing on stage 1, Paddy’s are not alone in balancing precaution with normality moving towards May 14th. Some of the larger concerns in the community are related to a possible second wave of COVID-19, how to offer the highest level of precaution for this industry to allow in-house seating and how will we as individuals feel safe returning to our favorite restaurants.

 

If we remind ourselves of the regulations that any restaurant has to adhere to generally operate and to handle the food we eat. They are uniquely poised and trained to adhere to health and safety regulations put forward by the Alberta Health Services. Paddy’s have been actively sanitizing all areas of their restaurant to reduce any risk of contamination and will continue to follow recommendations from regulatory bodies. In regards to reopening, they are taking a cautious approach. Some of the guidelines for Stage 1 consist of restaurants to operate with a 50% reduction for in house seating and to continue with a two-meter distance from individual customers. Paddy’s would traditionally have a 70 person capacity and will work to operate with this reduction with the addition of new outdoor seating. Moving forward, Jordan and Kerry are eager to listen to their customers for what they want in terms of precaution in the wake of reopening. 

 

This is a time where we are reminded of what are the more important things in life. It has also allowed us to miss a lot of smaller things. We are looking forward to the other end of this pandemic as a community hurting. Jordan is particularly looking forward to socializing again at some of his favorite bars and restaurants. 

He believes that the cancellations of events like sports games and festivals can have a silver lining. His optimism is based on the energy and positivity of the people in our community:

“…we are going to spend more time with family, we’re going to have more time to be creative, more time to make Calgary a vibrant city”

We wish Paddy’s Barbecue and Brewery the best of success with re-opening moving towards May 14th. If you would like to learn more about Jordan and Kerry or to support them by ordering from their takeaway menu, visit their social media below or website here.

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For more stories, visit Todayville Calgary

Business

China’s economy takes a hit as factories experience sharp decline in orders following Trump tariffs

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Quick Hit:

President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports are delivering a direct blow to China’s economy, with new data showing factory activity dropping sharply in April. The fallout signals growing pressure on Beijing as it struggles to prop up a slowing economy amid a bruising trade standoff.

Key Details:

  • China’s manufacturing index plunged to 49.0 in April — the steepest monthly decline in over a year.
  • Orders for Chinese exports hit their lowest point since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to official data.
  • U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods have reached 145%, with China retaliating at 125%, intensifying the standoff.

Diving Deeper:

Three weeks into a high-stakes trade war, President Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy is showing early signs of success — at least when it comes to putting economic pressure on America’s chief global rival. A new report from China’s National Bureau of Statistics shows the country’s manufacturing sector suffered its sharpest monthly slowdown in over a year. The cause? A dramatic drop in new export orders from the United States, where tariffs on Chinese-made goods have soared to 145%.

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.0 in April — a contraction level that underlines just how deeply U.S. tariffs are biting. It’s the first clear sign from China’s own official data that the trade measures imposed by President Trump are starting to weaken the export-reliant Chinese economy. A sub-index measuring new export orders reached its lowest point since the Covid-19 pandemic, and factory employment fell to levels not seen since early 2024.

Despite retaliatory tariffs of 125% on U.S. goods, Beijing appears to be scrambling to shore up its economy. China’s government has unveiled a series of internal stimulus measures to boost consumer spending and stabilize employment. These include pension increases, subsidies, and a new law promising more protection for private businesses — a clear sign that confidence among Chinese entrepreneurs is eroding under Xi Jinping’s increasing centralization of economic power.

President Trump, on the other hand, remains defiant. “China was ripping us off like nobody’s ever ripped us off,” he said Tuesday in an interview, dismissing concerns that his policies would harm American consumers. He predicted Beijing would “eat those tariffs,” a statement that appears more prescient as China’s economic woes grow more apparent.

Still, the impact is not one-sided. Major U.S. companies like UPS and General Motors have warned of job cuts and revised earnings projections, respectively. Consumer confidence has also dipped. Yet the broader strategy from the Trump administration appears to be focused on playing the long game — applying sustained pressure on China to level the playing field for American workers and businesses.

Economists are warning of potential global fallout if the trade dispute lingers. However, Beijing may have more to lose. Analysts at Capital Economics now predict China’s growth will fall well short of its 5% target for the year, citing the strain on exports and weak domestic consumption. Meanwhile, Nomura Securities estimates up to 15.8 million Chinese jobs could be at risk if U.S. exports continue to decline.

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Business

Scott Bessent says U.S., Ukraine “ready to sign” rare earths deal

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Quick Hit:

During Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. is prepared to move forward with a minerals agreement with Ukraine. President Trump has framed the deal as a way to recover U.S. aid and establish an American presence to deter Russian threats.

Key Details:

  • Bessent confirmed during a Cabinet meeting that the U.S. is “ready to sign this afternoon,” even as Ukrainian officials introduced last-minute changes to the agreement. “We’re sure that they will reconsider that,” he added during the Cabinet discussion.

  • Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko was reportedly in Washington on Wednesday to iron out remaining details with American officials.

  • The deal is expected to outline a rare earth mineral partnership between Washington and Kyiv, with Ukrainian Armed Forces Lt. Denis Yaroslavsky calling it a potential turning point: “The minerals deal is the first step. Ukraine should sign it on an equal basis. Russia is afraid of this deal.”

Diving Deeper:

The United States is poised to sign a long-anticipated rare earth minerals agreement with Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced  during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. According to Bessent, Ukrainians introduced “last minute changes” late Tuesday night, complicating the final phase of negotiations. Still, he emphasized the U.S. remains prepared to move forward: “We’re sure that they will reconsider that, and we are ready to sign this afternoon.”

As first reported by Ukrainian media and confirmed by multiple Ukrainian officials, Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is in Washington this week for the final stages of negotiations. “We are finalizing the last details with our American colleagues,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Telemarathon.

The deal follows months of complex talks that nearly collapsed earlier this year. In February, President Trump dispatched top officials, including Bessent, to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine to hammer out terms. According to officials familiar with the matter, Trump grew frustrated when Kyiv initially refused U.S. conditions. Still, the two sides ultimately reached what Bessent described as an “improved” version of the deal by late February.

The effort nearly fell apart again during Zelensky’s February 28th visit to the White House, where a heated Oval Office exchange between the Ukrainian president, Trump, and Vice President JD Vance led to Zelensky being removed from the building and the deal left unsigned.

Despite those setbacks, the deal appears to be back on track. While no public text of the agreement has been released, the framework is expected to center on U.S.-Ukraine cooperation in extracting rare earth minerals—resources vital to modern manufacturing, electronics, and defense technologies.

President Trump has publicly defended the arrangement as a strategic and financial win for the United States. “We want something for our efforts beyond what you would think would be acceptable, and we said, ‘rare earth, they’re very good,’” he said during the Cabinet meeting. “It’s also good for them, because you’ll have an American presence at the site and the American presence will keep a lot of bad actors out of the country—or certainly out of the area where we’re doing the digging.”

Trump has emphasized that the deal would serve as a form of “security guarantee” for Ukraine, providing a stabilizing American footprint amid ongoing Russian aggression. He framed it as a tangible return on the billions in U.S. aid sent to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s 2022 invasion.

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